Manuscripts in the making

Penitential Psalms

Texts and Images

The seven Penitential Psalms (6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129 and 142) were recited as prayers of contrition, expressing faith in God’s justice and hope for deliverance. The first of them opens with a large miniature of the penitent David and a full historiated border showing Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, marching into battle on David’s orders.